SEMA Member News—July/August 2015

Media Trade Conference Creates Opportunities for Manufacturers

	The 18th MPMC Media Trade Conference was held January in Santa Ana, California. Every year, 100 MPMC-member companies meet individually with editors from around the country.

After 18 years of success, the SEMA Motorsports Parts Manufacturers Council’s (MPMC) annual Media Trade Conference (MTC) is still going strong. Every January, the conference takes place at an Embassy Suites in Southern California, where 100 MPMC members set up meeting space in their own individual suites and host 30-minute meetings with journalists.

Key company executives ranging from company owners, presidents and marketing staff to R&D experts and technical experts set up the suites, and members of the media are invited to sign up for private, uninterrupted appointments. During the meetings, the editors learn in-depth details about each company and its products.

Council leadership regularly hears from journalists that the MTC is one of the most efficient and effective ways to learn about what is new in the motorsports industry. After the three-day event, many editors walk away knowing what their next year’s content will be. With that kind of response from motorsports media, it follows that the week is a valuable investment for manufacturers seeking
product exposure.

Brian Downard, vice president of sales and marketing for Lokar, remarked how pleased he was with the quality of participants at this year’s MTC. Lokar personnel have participated in the event several times and often get to meet with media they might not see anywhere else.

Throughout the year, Downard’s team keeps a close eye out for coverage resulting from the event. In addition to magazine articles, the company has had the opportunity to participate in interviews for television, radio and web-based publications. Downard and his team track all of this, which helps them prepare for their meetings at the conference and start building relationships with the editors.

“If it’s someone that we haven’t met with before, we just kind of get to know them,” Downard said of his onsite strategy. “It’s really good for building relationships and taking a minute to know what these guys are up to, what they think, what they’re working on. I don’t know of a better venue to sit and meet people and talk strictly about you. You need to sit there and learn about who you’re dealing with, but you also need to take that time and talk about you. You need to talk about your program and what you have, what projects you’re pushing.”

Downard also knows that his job isn’t finished at the end of the 30-minute meeting.

“The main thing is follow-up,” he said. “Don’t walk out of there in January thinking that’s it for the year. Make sure you follow up with people and keep track of them and see what’s going on—how things are going, if there’s anything that has caused them delays in their deadlines or anything you can help them with.”

His best advice for other exhibitors is this: “It’s like anything else in life—you get out of it what you put into it.”

MPMC Award Winners Honored

John DiBartolomeo, editor of Drag Racing Action, was presented with the Robert E. Petersen Award during the MTC. Each year, MPMC takes time during an evening reception to honor and thank an individual in the media whose work has enhanced the motorsports industry.

DiBartolomeo is known among racers for his enthusiastic support of motorsports and the parts manufacturing niche. He routinely publishes technical articles, bringing exposure to many council-member companies’ products. Along with his coverage of drag-racing events around the country, DiBartolomeo supports the council as a media attendee at the MTC and volunteers his time to photograph MPMC’s events at the Performance Racing Industry Show.

MPMC Chair Rich Barsamian also took a moment to present Chair-Elect Chris Douglas with a chairman’s award in thanks for his leadership. Douglas grew up in a family of circle-track racers and raced professionally with career starts in NASCAR, ARCA and ASA. After spending several years as the operating partner of a start-up stock-car driving school, he joined Comp Cams as a marketing coordinator in 2003 and has since progressed to the position of vice president of marketing. He has participated in numerous volunteer positions with SEMA and its councils, seeing it as an opportunity to give back to the industry and prepare the way for future generations.

The MPMC Media Trade Conference exhibitor application will open at the beginning of August. For more information about the event, contact Lindsay Bianco at lindsayb@sema.org.

SEMA Member News—July/August 2015

Media Trade Conference Creates Opportunities for Manufacturers

	The 18th MPMC Media Trade Conference was held January in Santa Ana, California. Every year, 100 MPMC-member companies meet individually with editors from around the country.

After 18 years of success, the SEMA Motorsports Parts Manufacturers Council’s (MPMC) annual Media Trade Conference (MTC) is still going strong. Every January, the conference takes place at an Embassy Suites in Southern California, where 100 MPMC members set up meeting space in their own individual suites and host 30-minute meetings with journalists.

Key company executives ranging from company owners, presidents and marketing staff to R&D experts and technical experts set up the suites, and members of the media are invited to sign up for private, uninterrupted appointments. During the meetings, the editors learn in-depth details about each company and its products.

Council leadership regularly hears from journalists that the MTC is one of the most efficient and effective ways to learn about what is new in the motorsports industry. After the three-day event, many editors walk away knowing what their next year’s content will be. With that kind of response from motorsports media, it follows that the week is a valuable investment for manufacturers seeking
product exposure.

Brian Downard, vice president of sales and marketing for Lokar, remarked how pleased he was with the quality of participants at this year’s MTC. Lokar personnel have participated in the event several times and often get to meet with media they might not see anywhere else.

Throughout the year, Downard’s team keeps a close eye out for coverage resulting from the event. In addition to magazine articles, the company has had the opportunity to participate in interviews for television, radio and web-based publications. Downard and his team track all of this, which helps them prepare for their meetings at the conference and start building relationships with the editors.

“If it’s someone that we haven’t met with before, we just kind of get to know them,” Downard said of his onsite strategy. “It’s really good for building relationships and taking a minute to know what these guys are up to, what they think, what they’re working on. I don’t know of a better venue to sit and meet people and talk strictly about you. You need to sit there and learn about who you’re dealing with, but you also need to take that time and talk about you. You need to talk about your program and what you have, what projects you’re pushing.”

Downard also knows that his job isn’t finished at the end of the 30-minute meeting.

“The main thing is follow-up,” he said. “Don’t walk out of there in January thinking that’s it for the year. Make sure you follow up with people and keep track of them and see what’s going on—how things are going, if there’s anything that has caused them delays in their deadlines or anything you can help them with.”

His best advice for other exhibitors is this: “It’s like anything else in life—you get out of it what you put into it.”

MPMC Award Winners Honored

John DiBartolomeo, editor of Drag Racing Action, was presented with the Robert E. Petersen Award during the MTC. Each year, MPMC takes time during an evening reception to honor and thank an individual in the media whose work has enhanced the motorsports industry.

DiBartolomeo is known among racers for his enthusiastic support of motorsports and the parts manufacturing niche. He routinely publishes technical articles, bringing exposure to many council-member companies’ products. Along with his coverage of drag-racing events around the country, DiBartolomeo supports the council as a media attendee at the MTC and volunteers his time to photograph MPMC’s events at the Performance Racing Industry Show.

MPMC Chair Rich Barsamian also took a moment to present Chair-Elect Chris Douglas with a chairman’s award in thanks for his leadership. Douglas grew up in a family of circle-track racers and raced professionally with career starts in NASCAR, ARCA and ASA. After spending several years as the operating partner of a start-up stock-car driving school, he joined Comp Cams as a marketing coordinator in 2003 and has since progressed to the position of vice president of marketing. He has participated in numerous volunteer positions with SEMA and its councils, seeing it as an opportunity to give back to the industry and prepare the way for future generations.

The MPMC Media Trade Conference exhibitor application will open at the beginning of August. For more information about the event, contact Lindsay Bianco at lindsayb@sema.org.

SEMA News—July 2015

CHRIS KERSTING

SEMA: Delivering Business Tools for You—Are You Using Them Yet?

With the arrival of July, SEMA initiates a new fiscal year and budget. It’s an exciting and challenging time for both the association staff and the Board of Directors. As we embark on another financial cycle, we can report that good management and long-term financial planning have put the association in position to invest in tools and programs to help members with product development, vehicle technology integration, regulatory compliance and delivering digital marketing content to the world. We are pressing forward today with significant services and tools that will benefit members for years to come. But you have to use the programs to get the benefits!

For example, we purchased the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Trade Show and magazine and consolidated them with the International Motorsports Industry Show (IMIS) in Indianapolis, creating a more efficient trade show landscape for the racing segment. The PRI Trade Show is delivering outstanding return on investment (ROI) for attendees, and the 2015 show is shaping up to be another great event. If you have not been to the show lately, I urge you to join us in Indy this December and check it out for yourself.

We’re helping members grow sales through the SEMA Data Co-op (SDC), our member-owned product data repository, which now boasts industry-leading data volume and reseller participation. SDC is bringing more manufacturer product lines into the “search-click-found” era, and it’s helping resellers to easily use this powerful marketing information. The new SEMA Search look-up tool further enhances the ROI for those participating in the SDC. If you aren’t benefitting yet as an SDC member, take the time to contact us and make joining a priority.

We’ve also expanded SEMA’s Vehicle Technology tools by launching the SEMA Garage and leveraging OE relationships to support benefits such as Tech Transfer. Member manufacturers now have access to original OEM computer-aided design files, rapid prototyping technology and a smooth pathway to California Air Resources Board and Environmental Protection Agency emissions certification—all at the SEMA Garage.

We’ve expanded our International Trade Conferences, which have been highly rated by participants and earned significant financial support from the U.S. Department of Commerce. These initiatives have yielded new sales in excess of $62 million by member companies since 2011. Join us and learn how to grow sales in strong enthusiast
markets overseas.

We’ve launched SEMA Ignited along with the Battle of the Builders competition and television special, leading a consumer awareness initiative to leverage the creativity and innovation of SEMA Show exhibitors by exposing their products more broadly to the media and consumers. The inaugural SEMA Ignited event was a tremendous success, and SEMA Ignited moves directly across the street from the SEMA Show this year—making it more convenient for more of the industry to participate.

The above are examples of how SEMA is investing your member resources to provide you with great tools to help your business succeed. As we work through considerations for the 2016 budget picture, I want to note that SEMA has been able to provide these benefits without raising dues since the early ’80s or booth fees for SEMA Show exhibitors for the past 11 years.

In the future, costs are likely to rise. For example, the Las Vegas Convention Center has informed SEMA of another increase in the hall rental rates we pay, and our related costs have grown as well. However, SEMA will continue to strive to return dues and Show earnings to exhibitors through programs such as the SDC, the SEMA Garage, SEMA Ignited and Battle of the Builders, while keeping fee increases as low as possible.

Our low fees and high level of benefits have been a boon to our members. My message to you: Take advantage of the great tools your association invests in on your behalf! Contact us today to enroll in the many programs and benefits your association is delivering. The ROI is real!

—Chris Kersting, SEMA President and CEO

SEMA News—July 2015

CHRIS KERSTING

SEMA: Delivering Business Tools for You—Are You Using Them Yet?

With the arrival of July, SEMA initiates a new fiscal year and budget. It’s an exciting and challenging time for both the association staff and the Board of Directors. As we embark on another financial cycle, we can report that good management and long-term financial planning have put the association in position to invest in tools and programs to help members with product development, vehicle technology integration, regulatory compliance and delivering digital marketing content to the world. We are pressing forward today with significant services and tools that will benefit members for years to come. But you have to use the programs to get the benefits!

For example, we purchased the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Trade Show and magazine and consolidated them with the International Motorsports Industry Show (IMIS) in Indianapolis, creating a more efficient trade show landscape for the racing segment. The PRI Trade Show is delivering outstanding return on investment (ROI) for attendees, and the 2015 show is shaping up to be another great event. If you have not been to the show lately, I urge you to join us in Indy this December and check it out for yourself.

We’re helping members grow sales through the SEMA Data Co-op (SDC), our member-owned product data repository, which now boasts industry-leading data volume and reseller participation. SDC is bringing more manufacturer product lines into the “search-click-found” era, and it’s helping resellers to easily use this powerful marketing information. The new SEMA Search look-up tool further enhances the ROI for those participating in the SDC. If you aren’t benefitting yet as an SDC member, take the time to contact us and make joining a priority.

We’ve also expanded SEMA’s Vehicle Technology tools by launching the SEMA Garage and leveraging OE relationships to support benefits such as Tech Transfer. Member manufacturers now have access to original OEM computer-aided design files, rapid prototyping technology and a smooth pathway to California Air Resources Board and Environmental Protection Agency emissions certification—all at the SEMA Garage.

We’ve expanded our International Trade Conferences, which have been highly rated by participants and earned significant financial support from the U.S. Department of Commerce. These initiatives have yielded new sales in excess of $62 million by member companies since 2011. Join us and learn how to grow sales in strong enthusiast
markets overseas.

We’ve launched SEMA Ignited along with the Battle of the Builders competition and television special, leading a consumer awareness initiative to leverage the creativity and innovation of SEMA Show exhibitors by exposing their products more broadly to the media and consumers. The inaugural SEMA Ignited event was a tremendous success, and SEMA Ignited moves directly across the street from the SEMA Show this year—making it more convenient for more of the industry to participate.

The above are examples of how SEMA is investing your member resources to provide you with great tools to help your business succeed. As we work through considerations for the 2016 budget picture, I want to note that SEMA has been able to provide these benefits without raising dues since the early ’80s or booth fees for SEMA Show exhibitors for the past 11 years.

In the future, costs are likely to rise. For example, the Las Vegas Convention Center has informed SEMA of another increase in the hall rental rates we pay, and our related costs have grown as well. However, SEMA will continue to strive to return dues and Show earnings to exhibitors through programs such as the SDC, the SEMA Garage, SEMA Ignited and Battle of the Builders, while keeping fee increases as low as possible.

Our low fees and high level of benefits have been a boon to our members. My message to you: Take advantage of the great tools your association invests in on your behalf! Contact us today to enroll in the many programs and benefits your association is delivering. The ROI is real!

—Chris Kersting, SEMA President and CEO

SEMA News—July 2015

CHRIS KERSTING

SEMA: Delivering Business Tools for You—Are You Using Them Yet?

With the arrival of July, SEMA initiates a new fiscal year and budget. It’s an exciting and challenging time for both the association staff and the Board of Directors. As we embark on another financial cycle, we can report that good management and long-term financial planning have put the association in position to invest in tools and programs to help members with product development, vehicle technology integration, regulatory compliance and delivering digital marketing content to the world. We are pressing forward today with significant services and tools that will benefit members for years to come. But you have to use the programs to get the benefits!

For example, we purchased the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Trade Show and magazine and consolidated them with the International Motorsports Industry Show (IMIS) in Indianapolis, creating a more efficient trade show landscape for the racing segment. The PRI Trade Show is delivering outstanding return on investment (ROI) for attendees, and the 2015 show is shaping up to be another great event. If you have not been to the show lately, I urge you to join us in Indy this December and check it out for yourself.

We’re helping members grow sales through the SEMA Data Co-op (SDC), our member-owned product data repository, which now boasts industry-leading data volume and reseller participation. SDC is bringing more manufacturer product lines into the “search-click-found” era, and it’s helping resellers to easily use this powerful marketing information. The new SEMA Search look-up tool further enhances the ROI for those participating in the SDC. If you aren’t benefitting yet as an SDC member, take the time to contact us and make joining a priority.

We’ve also expanded SEMA’s Vehicle Technology tools by launching the SEMA Garage and leveraging OE relationships to support benefits such as Tech Transfer. Member manufacturers now have access to original OEM computer-aided design files, rapid prototyping technology and a smooth pathway to California Air Resources Board and Environmental Protection Agency emissions certification—all at the SEMA Garage.

We’ve expanded our International Trade Conferences, which have been highly rated by participants and earned significant financial support from the U.S. Department of Commerce. These initiatives have yielded new sales in excess of $62 million by member companies since 2011. Join us and learn how to grow sales in strong enthusiast
markets overseas.

We’ve launched SEMA Ignited along with the Battle of the Builders competition and television special, leading a consumer awareness initiative to leverage the creativity and innovation of SEMA Show exhibitors by exposing their products more broadly to the media and consumers. The inaugural SEMA Ignited event was a tremendous success, and SEMA Ignited moves directly across the street from the SEMA Show this year—making it more convenient for more of the industry to participate.

The above are examples of how SEMA is investing your member resources to provide you with great tools to help your business succeed. As we work through considerations for the 2016 budget picture, I want to note that SEMA has been able to provide these benefits without raising dues since the early ’80s or booth fees for SEMA Show exhibitors for the past 11 years.

In the future, costs are likely to rise. For example, the Las Vegas Convention Center has informed SEMA of another increase in the hall rental rates we pay, and our related costs have grown as well. However, SEMA will continue to strive to return dues and Show earnings to exhibitors through programs such as the SDC, the SEMA Garage, SEMA Ignited and Battle of the Builders, while keeping fee increases as low as possible.

Our low fees and high level of benefits have been a boon to our members. My message to you: Take advantage of the great tools your association invests in on your behalf! Contact us today to enroll in the many programs and benefits your association is delivering. The ROI is real!

—Chris Kersting, SEMA President and CEO

SEMA News—July 2015

CHRIS KERSTING

SEMA: Delivering Business Tools for You—Are You Using Them Yet?

With the arrival of July, SEMA initiates a new fiscal year and budget. It’s an exciting and challenging time for both the association staff and the Board of Directors. As we embark on another financial cycle, we can report that good management and long-term financial planning have put the association in position to invest in tools and programs to help members with product development, vehicle technology integration, regulatory compliance and delivering digital marketing content to the world. We are pressing forward today with significant services and tools that will benefit members for years to come. But you have to use the programs to get the benefits!

For example, we purchased the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Trade Show and magazine and consolidated them with the International Motorsports Industry Show (IMIS) in Indianapolis, creating a more efficient trade show landscape for the racing segment. The PRI Trade Show is delivering outstanding return on investment (ROI) for attendees, and the 2015 show is shaping up to be another great event. If you have not been to the show lately, I urge you to join us in Indy this December and check it out for yourself.

We’re helping members grow sales through the SEMA Data Co-op (SDC), our member-owned product data repository, which now boasts industry-leading data volume and reseller participation. SDC is bringing more manufacturer product lines into the “search-click-found” era, and it’s helping resellers to easily use this powerful marketing information. The new SEMA Search look-up tool further enhances the ROI for those participating in the SDC. If you aren’t benefitting yet as an SDC member, take the time to contact us and make joining a priority.

We’ve also expanded SEMA’s Vehicle Technology tools by launching the SEMA Garage and leveraging OE relationships to support benefits such as Tech Transfer. Member manufacturers now have access to original OEM computer-aided design files, rapid prototyping technology and a smooth pathway to California Air Resources Board and Environmental Protection Agency emissions certification—all at the SEMA Garage.

We’ve expanded our International Trade Conferences, which have been highly rated by participants and earned significant financial support from the U.S. Department of Commerce. These initiatives have yielded new sales in excess of $62 million by member companies since 2011. Join us and learn how to grow sales in strong enthusiast
markets overseas.

We’ve launched SEMA Ignited along with the Battle of the Builders competition and television special, leading a consumer awareness initiative to leverage the creativity and innovation of SEMA Show exhibitors by exposing their products more broadly to the media and consumers. The inaugural SEMA Ignited event was a tremendous success, and SEMA Ignited moves directly across the street from the SEMA Show this year—making it more convenient for more of the industry to participate.

The above are examples of how SEMA is investing your member resources to provide you with great tools to help your business succeed. As we work through considerations for the 2016 budget picture, I want to note that SEMA has been able to provide these benefits without raising dues since the early ’80s or booth fees for SEMA Show exhibitors for the past 11 years.

In the future, costs are likely to rise. For example, the Las Vegas Convention Center has informed SEMA of another increase in the hall rental rates we pay, and our related costs have grown as well. However, SEMA will continue to strive to return dues and Show earnings to exhibitors through programs such as the SDC, the SEMA Garage, SEMA Ignited and Battle of the Builders, while keeping fee increases as low as possible.

Our low fees and high level of benefits have been a boon to our members. My message to you: Take advantage of the great tools your association invests in on your behalf! Contact us today to enroll in the many programs and benefits your association is delivering. The ROI is real!

—Chris Kersting, SEMA President and CEO

SEMA News—July 2015

CHRIS KERSTING

SEMA: Delivering Business Tools for You—Are You Using Them Yet?

With the arrival of July, SEMA initiates a new fiscal year and budget. It’s an exciting and challenging time for both the association staff and the Board of Directors. As we embark on another financial cycle, we can report that good management and long-term financial planning have put the association in position to invest in tools and programs to help members with product development, vehicle technology integration, regulatory compliance and delivering digital marketing content to the world. We are pressing forward today with significant services and tools that will benefit members for years to come. But you have to use the programs to get the benefits!

For example, we purchased the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Trade Show and magazine and consolidated them with the International Motorsports Industry Show (IMIS) in Indianapolis, creating a more efficient trade show landscape for the racing segment. The PRI Trade Show is delivering outstanding return on investment (ROI) for attendees, and the 2015 show is shaping up to be another great event. If you have not been to the show lately, I urge you to join us in Indy this December and check it out for yourself.

We’re helping members grow sales through the SEMA Data Co-op (SDC), our member-owned product data repository, which now boasts industry-leading data volume and reseller participation. SDC is bringing more manufacturer product lines into the “search-click-found” era, and it’s helping resellers to easily use this powerful marketing information. The new SEMA Search look-up tool further enhances the ROI for those participating in the SDC. If you aren’t benefitting yet as an SDC member, take the time to contact us and make joining a priority.

We’ve also expanded SEMA’s Vehicle Technology tools by launching the SEMA Garage and leveraging OE relationships to support benefits such as Tech Transfer. Member manufacturers now have access to original OEM computer-aided design files, rapid prototyping technology and a smooth pathway to California Air Resources Board and Environmental Protection Agency emissions certification—all at the SEMA Garage.

We’ve expanded our International Trade Conferences, which have been highly rated by participants and earned significant financial support from the U.S. Department of Commerce. These initiatives have yielded new sales in excess of $62 million by member companies since 2011. Join us and learn how to grow sales in strong enthusiast
markets overseas.

We’ve launched SEMA Ignited along with the Battle of the Builders competition and television special, leading a consumer awareness initiative to leverage the creativity and innovation of SEMA Show exhibitors by exposing their products more broadly to the media and consumers. The inaugural SEMA Ignited event was a tremendous success, and SEMA Ignited moves directly across the street from the SEMA Show this year—making it more convenient for more of the industry to participate.

The above are examples of how SEMA is investing your member resources to provide you with great tools to help your business succeed. As we work through considerations for the 2016 budget picture, I want to note that SEMA has been able to provide these benefits without raising dues since the early ’80s or booth fees for SEMA Show exhibitors for the past 11 years.

In the future, costs are likely to rise. For example, the Las Vegas Convention Center has informed SEMA of another increase in the hall rental rates we pay, and our related costs have grown as well. However, SEMA will continue to strive to return dues and Show earnings to exhibitors through programs such as the SDC, the SEMA Garage, SEMA Ignited and Battle of the Builders, while keeping fee increases as low as possible.

Our low fees and high level of benefits have been a boon to our members. My message to you: Take advantage of the great tools your association invests in on your behalf! Contact us today to enroll in the many programs and benefits your association is delivering. The ROI is real!

—Chris Kersting, SEMA President and CEO

SEMA News—July 2015

CHRIS KERSTING

SEMA: Delivering Business Tools for You—Are You Using Them Yet?

With the arrival of July, SEMA initiates a new fiscal year and budget. It’s an exciting and challenging time for both the association staff and the Board of Directors. As we embark on another financial cycle, we can report that good management and long-term financial planning have put the association in position to invest in tools and programs to help members with product development, vehicle technology integration, regulatory compliance and delivering digital marketing content to the world. We are pressing forward today with significant services and tools that will benefit members for years to come. But you have to use the programs to get the benefits!

For example, we purchased the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Trade Show and magazine and consolidated them with the International Motorsports Industry Show (IMIS) in Indianapolis, creating a more efficient trade show landscape for the racing segment. The PRI Trade Show is delivering outstanding return on investment (ROI) for attendees, and the 2015 show is shaping up to be another great event. If you have not been to the show lately, I urge you to join us in Indy this December and check it out for yourself.

We’re helping members grow sales through the SEMA Data Co-op (SDC), our member-owned product data repository, which now boasts industry-leading data volume and reseller participation. SDC is bringing more manufacturer product lines into the “search-click-found” era, and it’s helping resellers to easily use this powerful marketing information. The new SEMA Search look-up tool further enhances the ROI for those participating in the SDC. If you aren’t benefitting yet as an SDC member, take the time to contact us and make joining a priority.

We’ve also expanded SEMA’s Vehicle Technology tools by launching the SEMA Garage and leveraging OE relationships to support benefits such as Tech Transfer. Member manufacturers now have access to original OEM computer-aided design files, rapid prototyping technology and a smooth pathway to California Air Resources Board and Environmental Protection Agency emissions certification—all at the SEMA Garage.

We’ve expanded our International Trade Conferences, which have been highly rated by participants and earned significant financial support from the U.S. Department of Commerce. These initiatives have yielded new sales in excess of $62 million by member companies since 2011. Join us and learn how to grow sales in strong enthusiast
markets overseas.

We’ve launched SEMA Ignited along with the Battle of the Builders competition and television special, leading a consumer awareness initiative to leverage the creativity and innovation of SEMA Show exhibitors by exposing their products more broadly to the media and consumers. The inaugural SEMA Ignited event was a tremendous success, and SEMA Ignited moves directly across the street from the SEMA Show this year—making it more convenient for more of the industry to participate.

The above are examples of how SEMA is investing your member resources to provide you with great tools to help your business succeed. As we work through considerations for the 2016 budget picture, I want to note that SEMA has been able to provide these benefits without raising dues since the early ’80s or booth fees for SEMA Show exhibitors for the past 11 years.

In the future, costs are likely to rise. For example, the Las Vegas Convention Center has informed SEMA of another increase in the hall rental rates we pay, and our related costs have grown as well. However, SEMA will continue to strive to return dues and Show earnings to exhibitors through programs such as the SDC, the SEMA Garage, SEMA Ignited and Battle of the Builders, while keeping fee increases as low as possible.

Our low fees and high level of benefits have been a boon to our members. My message to you: Take advantage of the great tools your association invests in on your behalf! Contact us today to enroll in the many programs and benefits your association is delivering. The ROI is real!

—Chris Kersting, SEMA President and CEO

	Troy Trepanier of Rad Rides by Troy brought in Ryan Root as a summer intern to do renderings for the shop so that he had something tangible to show customers and to help streamline the fabrication process.

One of the benefits of belonging to a community, such as the Hot Rod Industry Alliance (HRIA), is that you have a whole network looking out for you. Not only is council membership a way to make new friends, but it also serves a business well—especially when it comes time to hire new talent. This was absolutely the case for Ryan Root, who was able to deliver his portfolio to HRIA through connections in the industry. Council Chairman John McLeod, who was impressed with Root’s designs, passed the portfolio to Troy Trepanier of Rad Rides by Troy. Trepanier provided Root with an internship, one that was the result of council networking and communication.

Root recently finished his junior year of college at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, where he is studying automotive design. The love of cars was instilled in him at a young age by his father, who painted sprint cars and midgets. When it came time for Root to look for an internship, he networked his way into a summer job at Rad Rides by Troy that would allow him to contribute his design skills and learn more about the fabrication side of the business. While Root’s portfolio impressed everyone who saw it, the HRIA community helped him land a position perfect for his skills and interests.

“I really want to learn a lot, not only about the design process, but the whole process of building hot rods. I’ve got a small skillset in fabrication and a larger skillset in custom paint because that’s what I started out with. But I would like to learn the whole process from start to finish,” said Root.

Troy Trepanier is a huge proponent of youth engagement in the automotive sphere. From his perspective, one of the main benefits of hosting an intern is a chance to harness the energy and ideas of the next generation. He remembers being mentored by industry veterans, such as Boyd, Baskerville, Posie and others, and he hopes that he can also provide opportunities for future hot rodders.

“I’ll tell you, you get some of the young guys with a little bit of ability and the passion, and you plug into them what our theme or style is and, man, it can really create some special guys,” Trepanier said.

An important part of his internship philosophy is providing the right environment for learning—finding someone with skills the company needs and then finding productive projects for them to work on. Trepanier needed someone to do renderings for the shop so that he had something tangible to show customers and to help streamline the fabrication process. Trepanier also hopes to teach Root some new skills. Because of Root’s background, there are many possibilities.

“In a shop like mine, we have 12 guys. I could have him sit there and draw all day; it would take us 100 years to build everything he drew,” Trepanier explained. “So I need him to be able to do the drawings when we need them, but obviously come down in the shop, whether it’s painting or pinstriping, light fabrication or bouncing ideas off and being a little more useful that way. And I think that’s maybe where we’ll instill some of what we know on some light fabrication, welding and just how we do things in general.”

Trepanier also has a few other projects in mind for the summer, focused on building the business’ brand. Whatever this summer holds, the future is bright for Root. He has big goals for himself, too.

“After college, it’s always been my dream to design hot rods for a living. So if I could get a job at a hot-rod fabrication shop to design hot rods, that would be a good step for me. But I also have a twin brother who is also an automotive designer and he went to the same school that I did, and actually right now he’s interning at Hot Wheels in Los Angeles. So eventually, maybe I would like to do something with him and open up our own shop,” he said.

HRIA hopes to have a hand in many more stories like this one. That’s what the Futures in Hot Rodding initiative is about—recognizing talent and connecting newcomers to opportunities. To learn more about the resources that are available, visit www.sema.org/futures.

	Troy Trepanier of Rad Rides by Troy brought in Ryan Root as a summer intern to do renderings for the shop so that he had something tangible to show customers and to help streamline the fabrication process.

One of the benefits of belonging to a community, such as the Hot Rod Industry Alliance (HRIA), is that you have a whole network looking out for you. Not only is council membership a way to make new friends, but it also serves a business well—especially when it comes time to hire new talent. This was absolutely the case for Ryan Root, who was able to deliver his portfolio to HRIA through connections in the industry. Council Chairman John McLeod, who was impressed with Root’s designs, passed the portfolio to Troy Trepanier of Rad Rides by Troy. Trepanier provided Root with an internship, one that was the result of council networking and communication.

Root recently finished his junior year of college at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, where he is studying automotive design. The love of cars was instilled in him at a young age by his father, who painted sprint cars and midgets. When it came time for Root to look for an internship, he networked his way into a summer job at Rad Rides by Troy that would allow him to contribute his design skills and learn more about the fabrication side of the business. While Root’s portfolio impressed everyone who saw it, the HRIA community helped him land a position perfect for his skills and interests.

“I really want to learn a lot, not only about the design process, but the whole process of building hot rods. I’ve got a small skillset in fabrication and a larger skillset in custom paint because that’s what I started out with. But I would like to learn the whole process from start to finish,” said Root.

Troy Trepanier is a huge proponent of youth engagement in the automotive sphere. From his perspective, one of the main benefits of hosting an intern is a chance to harness the energy and ideas of the next generation. He remembers being mentored by industry veterans, such as Boyd, Baskerville, Posie and others, and he hopes that he can also provide opportunities for future hot rodders.

“I’ll tell you, you get some of the young guys with a little bit of ability and the passion, and you plug into them what our theme or style is and, man, it can really create some special guys,” Trepanier said.

An important part of his internship philosophy is providing the right environment for learning—finding someone with skills the company needs and then finding productive projects for them to work on. Trepanier needed someone to do renderings for the shop so that he had something tangible to show customers and to help streamline the fabrication process. Trepanier also hopes to teach Root some new skills. Because of Root’s background, there are many possibilities.

“In a shop like mine, we have 12 guys. I could have him sit there and draw all day; it would take us 100 years to build everything he drew,” Trepanier explained. “So I need him to be able to do the drawings when we need them, but obviously come down in the shop, whether it’s painting or pinstriping, light fabrication or bouncing ideas off and being a little more useful that way. And I think that’s maybe where we’ll instill some of what we know on some light fabrication, welding and just how we do things in general.”

Trepanier also has a few other projects in mind for the summer, focused on building the business’ brand. Whatever this summer holds, the future is bright for Root. He has big goals for himself, too.

“After college, it’s always been my dream to design hot rods for a living. So if I could get a job at a hot-rod fabrication shop to design hot rods, that would be a good step for me. But I also have a twin brother who is also an automotive designer and he went to the same school that I did, and actually right now he’s interning at Hot Wheels in Los Angeles. So eventually, maybe I would like to do something with him and open up our own shop,” he said.

HRIA hopes to have a hand in many more stories like this one. That’s what the Futures in Hot Rodding initiative is about—recognizing talent and connecting newcomers to opportunities. To learn more about the resources that are available, visit www.sema.org/futures.